


Try Me

by triggeringthehealing (froggydarren)



Series: Sterek Eternal Valentine [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 10:05:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6606748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/triggeringthehealing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles watched as Derek poured himself a cup of coffee, studied the already familiar movements and tiny shifts in expressions that he thought he knew well. Despite that, he didn’t know what to make of Derek’s reaction, of the vehemence with which he shut down the pack’s matchmaking attempts. </p>
<p>Prompt fill for the <a href="http://sterek-stories.tumblr.com/">Sterek Stories</a> Valentine's Day challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Try Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paintedrecs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedrecs/gifts).



The outburst of anger came after months of Derek’s quiet acceptance of the pack’s attempts to set him up on dates, to find him someone to connect with. It caught Stiles off guard -- it surprised everyone, really -- because the discussion that followed the pack choosing strictly women for the dates came barely a month into their set ups, and Derek’s admission of his bisexuality went over calmly on all sides. It prompted several other confessions of sexuality, including Scott and Stiles’. 

It was when Stiles came to Derek’s apartment with his laptop, and asked a series of unsurprisingly -- it wasn’t their first rodeo -- personal questions for yet another matchmaking site that Derek growled and slammed the door to his room closed after he stomped away from Stiles. 

“Get out,” he said in a flat and cold tone when he came back into the kitchen and found Stiles still sitting at the table, laptop closed in front of him. 

“No,” Stiles countered, long past being afraid of Derek’s wolf, or any other sides of Derek. 

“I’m not doing any more of this,” Derek said, not making eye contact. 

Stiles watched as Derek poured himself a cup of coffee, studied the already familiar movements and tiny shifts in expressions that he thought he knew well. Despite that, he didn’t know what to make of Derek’s reaction, of the vehemence with which he shut down the pack’s matchmaking attempts. 

“You were okay with it,” Stiles tried, racking his brain for signs of Derek’s dislike for the dates or the sign ups to whichever sites they’d put his profile on. 

“No, I wasn’t,” Derek shook his head. “I just thought you’d all give up by now.” 

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said quietly. “I should’ve…” 

“I should’ve said something sooner,” Derek finally looked in Stiles’ direction, and he walked over to sit at the table. “I kind of… it doesn’t matter.” 

“Try me,” Stiles said, prompted by curiosity and genuine care. 

It was clear to him this time that Derek had something to say, that there was something to share. He thought back on their discussions on the matchmaking, on Derek’s input into his profiles, berated himself for not seeing any signs of reluctance to find a romantic partner. The only thing that Stiles remembered was Derek’s resolute refusal to just hook up with anyone for sex, one that wasn’t only prompted by his past experiences. 

“It’s nothing,” Derek started, then paused and stared into his cup. 

Stiles waited him out, decided immediately not to push it but let Derek decide what he wanted to say. 

“I think I was hoping that it would solve something,” Derek spoke quietly, with hesitation. “I thought it would… that I wouldn’t be broken.” 

“Derek…” Stiles whispered and he reached across the table, but stopped himself just before their hands touched. 

“I can’t… I thought I was in love before,” Derek said, and he shrugged like he was brushing off the experience. “But it didn’t feel… I didn’t want  _ relationships _ with them. Sex, yes, but none of the romantic things.” 

Stiles stayed quiet for another moment, waiting to see if Derek was going to say anything else. When the silence extended into an almost uncomfortable one, he cleared his throat and spoke up. 

“There’s a word for it, actually,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “For people who don’t feel like they want to be in a relationship with anyone. Maybe you’re aro?” 

“Aro?” Derek echoed, his brows scrunched in confusion.

“Aromantic, not feeling romantic attraction to anyone,” Stiles explained. “It doesn’t rule out sexual attraction. It can be confusing, honestly, but it does sound like you could be.” 

“But… that’s not wanting a relationship at all, right?” Derek asked. 

Stiles nodded, and he was about to explain some more when Derek sighed deeply and shook his head.

“I wanted to, once, with Paige,” he whispered and Stiles’ eyes widened in surprise.

It was the first time that Derek brought up the girl, and Stiles wondered if he should admit that he’d heard about her from Peter. Derek continued talking before Stiles could say anything though. 

“I wasn’t… with her I wasn’t interested in just sex, and maybe that was because we were so young,” Derek spoke so quietly that Stiles could barely hear. “I liked her a lot, though. Differently too, not like… the others. She challenged me, didn’t take any of my crap, and she was so fucking talented and smart. I definitely did want to date her, though,” he finished and looked up at Stiles. 

The room stayed silent for a few beats, Stiles processing the information and Derek watching him. 

“It’s not just her either,” he finally added, and then he looked away from Stiles’ face.

“Der, if there’s someone…” Stiles started, but broke off when he saw Derek shaking his head. 

“No, it’s… that’s not going to happen, so it doesn’t matter.” 

Stiles frowned at that, but his mind was in information processing mode, so he returned to that train of thought. With the information about Paige, there was another option on the romantic attraction spectrum that came to his mind. 

“Demiromantic, then,” he said to Derek, and continued immediately with the explanation. “No romantic attraction, no desire for a relationship unless you already know a person well and you have an emotional connection. So you’d need to be friends first, be close to them before you consider dating them.” 

Derek hummed, and seemed to be thinking it over, his face going through a myriad of expressions that Stiles couldn’t for the life of him interpret. He didn’t push it though, and let Derek mull it over. 

“Yeah, that’s… yeah, that sounds right,” Derek said, and Stiles almost missed the glance in his own direction, Derek’s eyes barely meeting Stiles’. “That fits.” 

“So there is someone,” Stiles blurted before he could think about the implications, and his mind screeched to a halt when his own words fell into place in the puzzle of their conversation. 

“Stiles, I…” Derek said when he looked up after Stiles’ words. “Don’t…” 

This time, Stiles didn’t stop himself from touching Derek’s hand, and his fingers brushed over the knuckles as Derek’s hand curled into a fist. 

“Don’t,” Derek repeated, but his voice was weak and broke on the word. 

He looked down again, fixed his eyes on Stiles’ fingers that wrapped around his hand and squeezed gently. Derek didn’t move, and he didn’t say anything as Stiles continued tracing nonsensical patterns with his thumb. After a while, Stiles pulled his hand away and waited until Derek looked back at him. 

“You could’ve said,” Stiles said quietly. “If I’d known…” 

“I didn’t want to,” Derek started, and he pulled his hands into his lap. “We’re good like this, and we’re pack, I didn’t want to… you don’t feel like that and I didn’t want to make things weird.” 

“That’s some assumption there,” Stiles told him. “But then, I made the same one about you.” 

Derek’s eyes widened in surprise -- Stiles almost laughed at how it seemed to be the day for shocking revelations -- and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out. 

“I only agreed to the pack’s plan because I wanted to see you happy,” Stiles said. “Or well, to see if there was someone out there for you, even if it wouldn’t be easy to watch you with … well, anyone. And yes, I know that a relationship isn’t the only way to happiness, and that you’re already a lot better than when we first met. It’s just that I thought maybe that could be something good for you, and you’d never go looking by yourself…” 

“Because there already was someone, and I didn’t think that was possible,” Derek interrupted, and there was a small smile on his lips as the words came out. 

“Yeah well, I didn’t know that,” Stiles said with a shrug of his shoulders. “If I’d known, I’d have tried to… I don’t know…” 

“Stiles?” Derek asked when Stiles paused, for once lost for words. 

“Yeah?” 

“Would you go to dinner with me?” 

Stiles could feel the way his muscles moved as his lips turned up in a smile, and it felt like a weight fell off his shoulders with the question. He nodded back, almost too eagerly, and then breathed out a “yes” that made Derek smile back just as brightly. 

“Wait, let me just,” Stiles said then, and reached for his laptop. 

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, his brows scrunched in a frown again. 

“Deleting your dating site profiles,” Stiles told him as his fingers flew over the keyboard. “I’m planning on making sure you’ll never need them again.” 

Instead of words, Derek’s laugh filled the room, and Stiles couldn’t help grinning back at him. 

**Author's Note:**

>   
> [my tumblr](http://froggydarren.tumblr.com/) || [my sterek fic tumblr](http://triggeringthehealing.tumblr.com/)  
> 


End file.
